This is your standard relaxation and rejuvenation massage that promotes greater blood and lymph flow while reducing stress and tension. Typically, a dedicated Swedish/circulatory massage focuses on the relaxation of tight and overworked muscle, downregulation of the nervous system, and increasing blood flow to stagnate areas of the body to augment healing and recovery.

Deep tissue work is ideal for chronic pain management as well as for more athletic clients. Deep tissue is often thought of as a Swedish massage that utilizes deeper pressure. However, the focus and intent of deep tissue work is often more targeted and specific, investing more time in areas of acute/chronic pain or injury, limited mobility, or areas that are frequently overworked. Deep tissue work focuses more so on the breakdown of adhesive tissue (knots) and fascia to increase mobility, reduce pain, and promote more blood flow and thus healing and recovery. Typically, a combination of Swedish/circulatory and deep tissue techniques are combined in most sessions depending on the client’s needs. Techniques such as trigger point therapy, active muscle release, and stretching are more so emphasized with deep tissue/sports massage sessions than a standard swedish/circulatory massage.

Craniosacral therapy is a very gentle, subtle body modality that focuses on shifting the nervous system to a relaxed, parasympathetic state and very gently releasing areas of stagnation within the body, whether physical, emotional, or energetic. Craniosacral utilizes specific holds, placement of the hands, with an emphasis on the midline of the body (the skull, brain/tissue, spinal cord, cerebrospinal fluid, and sacrum). I like to describe the technique as the complete opposite of deep tissue work in that it utilizes a very different intention: that of receiving and holding space for change rather than enforcing change to happen. Craniosacral therapy originated within the field of osteopathy and utilizes a unique conception of the body as capable of facilitating its own healing. Craniosacral sessions are conducted with the intention of allowing the body to express its own ability to heal and transform. Clients sometimes choose to integrate craniosacral work into a longer 90 min or 2-hour massage session.